2007-09-07 Air conditioning

A few weeks ago I thought air conditioning in elementary schools was unnecessary. I’ve reversed my position and have spent the last several days finding out how to correct this problem in District 204. I‘ve been in contact with residents throughout the district including parents, school board members, teachers, principals, and presidents of PTAs, the IPPC and teacher’s union.

I never believed our elementary schools needed air conditioning. It seemed like a good thing that the district saved taxpayer money by building so many schools without incurring the cost to install, maintain and run air conditioning for what I thought would be a very few days per year. I didn’t have air conditioning in my home or school when I was growing up and I was fine.

These notions flew out the window when I went to our school’s Meet and Greet on the afternoon of August 22. For years I’d heard from students and teachers that the buildings were hot, but I hadn’t experienced it and didn’t know how horribly hot, humid, and downright unbearable it could be. I was only there for an hour. I cannot fathom teaching in this environment all day long, or the kids trying to concentrate while they are dripping with sweat and drinking from water bottles and the hallway fountain attempting to keep hydrated.

Today’s buildings are not built to withstand the heat the way many older buildings are. Our elementary schools do not have high ceilings, large windows, large shade trees, or good air flow. On hot days there are dozens of fans and dehumidifiers turned on throughout the buildings. The lights are turned off and the windows opened. This does little to improve the heat situation yet the noise makes it harder for children to hear their teachers.

The administrative offices, which are open year round, are air conditioned, as are the teacher’s lounges and computer labs. All of our middle schools and high schools and two newest elementary schools are air conditioned. Are the students and staff in those buildings more in need of a comfortable environment than our kindergarten through fifth graders and their teachers in the other nineteen schools?

I thought this was a problem just for a few hot days in the end of August. Now I find that some classrooms are ten to fifteen degrees hotter than it is outside. This means that there are many more days that are terribly hot inside, and those days are much hotter than I ever knew. Even on the cloudy rainy days of Aug. 23 and 24 with no children yet in attendance first floor classroom temps hovered around ninety degrees.

I’m certain that this is a health risk for some people in addition to just making for long and difficult days. My second-grader tells me that children look like they “just came out of a swimming pool” because they are so drenched in sweat. This is not something I want thousands of area children and staff to deal with for many hours a day for several days or weeks per school year for years to come.

The school district has taken some immediate steps to help alleviate the problems in the elementary buildings due to the heat. However, I believe that air conditioning in the buildings would be a better long-term solution that would provide relief from the heat and humidity as well as prevent indoor condensation and any potential for mold.

This can only happen with widespread support within the community. Residents can take the opportunity to speak during the public comment portion of the next school board meeting on Monday, September 10. Elementary school PTAs can pass a resolution calling for a citizens’ committee to be formed.

Retrofitting the buildings for air conditioning will cost money and will need a referendum. This is an uphill battle. Many think as I did recently, that this is unnecessary. Many think they pay too much in taxes already and are weary from previous tax increases and wary of other increases yet to come. Many in the cold of winter will forget how hot it can be in summer. People who have not spent time in a one hundred degree classroom may not realize how truly awful it is. I invite you to contact the building staff at one of the elementary buildings and set up a visit on a hot and sunny day. Most of us would not be willing to work in such circumstances and we should not expect our teachers and children and other building staff to tolerate such conditions either.

This has gone on long enough. Now is the time to take action to rectify this situation.